Archive for May, 2010
Construction Tour Reminder & Directions
May 19th, 2010 by Tim Delhey EianThere is still time to register for the construction tours this Friday. Please contact Amanda at Morr Construction for details.
Directions and Parking Instructions
The property is located at 908 Kirkwood Way North, Town of Hudson, WI 54016 (directions, see below). We encourage people to car-pool, seek parking on 10th Avenue, and walk 1/2 block to the property from there.
- From the West (metro area)
- I-94 East to Exit 1 in Wisconsin for Hudson and WI 35 North (just past the St. Croix River)
- Take Exit 1 North towards Hudson, State Rd 35 (2nd St. S)
- Take State Rd 35 (2nd St. S) for about 3 miles North
- Take a right on Krattley Ln/Krattley Ln N, head uphill (East)
- Take a left on Tenth St. N
- SEEK PARKING NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF Tenth St. N and Kirkwood Way N!
- Walk left on Kirkwood Way N (note: road sign only on the right) 1/2 block
- The property is located at 908 Kirkwood Way North, immediately to the left once the road turns from asphalt to gravel
- Meet at the construction trailer
Interior Design
May 14th, 2010 by admin
The structure for the PHitW has been underway for sometime now. Windows are being delivered soon, the ventilation system has arrived and the roof is on. All the while, the interiors team has been working on finish selections that include: Tile, wall treatments, floor finishes, cabinetry finishes, and elevations to detail all of this design. Some of the other details involve lighting and plumbing fixtures, appliance selection, counter top materials, and hardware throughout the home.
Tim Eian, Gary Konkol, Erin Heikkenen and myself have discussed function, durability, design and cost as all of these details have been massaged into a design concept that is consistent with the original architectural direction. A modern aesthetic is central to the overall design with a strong consideration of function for the home owner.
Of course, due to the environmental focus of this project, we have considered many variables when making decisions, ranging from where a product comes from, material and manufacturing process, to what happens at the end of its lifecycle.
The interior construction phase is one in which most people begin to understand the design concept, as it is realized inside the home. Many hours of meetings with Gary (the client) and Tim (the designer) to finalize the selection of finishes and materials are now part of the construction document package Morr Construction will use in building the interior.
In the coming weeks, I will be posting additional blogs that show interior detailing as it is implemented.
Christine Frisk is the owner of InUnison Design, and the interior designer for the Passive House in the Woods.
Interior Finish Materials.
Reviewing tile elevations with Tim and Gary
Erin and Christine presenting cabinetry details
Gary, Christine and Erin confirming tile and floor materials
Mini Series Part 5: Indoor Environmental Quality
May 14th, 2010 by Tim Delhey EianThere are a lot of rumors going around about Passive House buildings. One of them says that air quality may not be good in them. Let me be clear about this: Air quality in a Passive House is superb and one of the biggest differences with existing buildings and standard construction. In existing buildings, inhabitants would have to open all of their windows an average of 3 hours per day—every day of the year—in order to achieve a similar rate of ventilation as the Passive House standards prescribes.
Luefta ventilation machine
In addition to the ventilation system, we specified earthen plaster and casein paint finishes throughout, as well as minimally off-gasing floor coverings in an effort to avoid pollutants in the air in the first place. We made the slab radon-tight, and installed a passive radon mitigation system—just in case. Air infiltration into the building is minimized by careful detailing and execution, and field verified to be less than 0.6 air changes per hour at 50 Pascal pressure with a blower door test. This means that we have a lot of control over the indoor environmental quality inside Passive House in the Woods.
American Clay bag, source American Clay
We specified a ventilation machine by Luefta and home-run duct-system by Innoflex, both supplied by Peak Building Products out of Watertown, MN. The ducts are made from flexible plastic, rather than sheet metal. They are very smooth on the inside, and can easily be cleaned. They also do not need duct tape or mastic to achieve air tightness in the system. Each duct run is home run to the machine, making for a clean and quiet system, where noise cannot transfer from one room to the next through the ventilation ducts. The video illustrates the basic idea:
Passive House in the Woods ventilation system HD from Tim Eian on Vimeo.
Mini Series Part 4: Powered by Electricity?
May 13th, 2010 by Tim Delhey EianYes, the Passive House in the Woods home is powered by electricity; and yes, electricity is predominantly a dirty fuel in this country—mostly generated by burning coal. However, electricity is a universal fuel that will likely prevail when other fuels become unfeasible. In addition, it can and is being generated in many different ways. Some of these options are NOT dirty at all and one of these cleaner options is photovoltaic power made with the help of solar panels.
Pouring a footing for the solar tracker
PV tracker similar to this project
Gary decided to use solar electricity and generate it on site with the help of a solar tracker as well as a Read on »
Mini Series Part 3: Assembly Design
May 12th, 2010 by Tim Delhey EianAs Passive House designers, we are concerned with air-tightness and insulation value, as well as indoor environmental quality, hygrothermal performance, embodied energy, and green interior design. We selected construction methods and materials that combine highest performance with durability, robustness, and reasonable environmental impact. We preferred local product where suitable, and specialized product as needed to meet performance and aesthetic goals–always with a focus on the client’s vision, sustainable design, and the greater good.
Passive House performance is in the details. We meticulously defined air-barrier, vapor barrier, and insulation thickness at any junction, and made sure that they are continuous throughout.
Careful assembly design and detailing plays a huge roll in high-performance buildings. This is our specialty and we bring years of experience to this process. During the construction process, we assist the general contractor with site observations to help see details all the way through production. After all, it is on the job site where the performance is built.
Continuous insulation below the basement slab
Sealed air and vapor barrier below the basement slab
Finished basement slab
Tomorrow: Powered by Electricity?
Mini Series Part 2: Site Integration
May 11th, 2010 by Tim Delhey EianWe worked with Laurie McRostie (Landscape Architect) to learn from the land, to discover its natural patterns and vegetation, and to subsequently site a house and garage in the most benign way possible. We maximized passive solar heat gains in the winter, and looked for deciduous tree cover to help shade in the summer. We took advantage of stunning views and enhanced them with strategically placed windows, floor plans, and a roof top terrace that take advantage of them. Laurie’s master plan calls for fruit trees, vegetable patches, and other foods to be grown on site. Gary had us design a root-cellar underneath the garage to store root vegetables in the winter. The sustainable living aspect goes well beyond the building itself, yet it is reflected in its design and was part of the discussions we had all along.
Tomorrow: Highlight #3: Assembly Design
PHitW Construction Tour Announcement
May 10th, 2010 by Tim Delhey EianThe Passive House in the Woods will be open for a Construction Tour on 5/21/2010. We’ll have two tours that day. The first one is scheduled for 1.30 pm, the second one for 3.30 pm. If you are interested to see this high-performance building in person, please RSVP by 5/18 to Amanda at Morr Construction: amanda@morrconstruction.com
PHitW Project written up on GreenBuildingAdvisor.com
May 10th, 2010 by Tim Delhey Eian
Richard Defendorf at greenbuildingadvisor.com just posted a nice article about the Passive House in the Woods:
Passive House in the (Wisconsin) Woods
A Passive House project nearing completion on the state’s western border aims for energy-positive performance and a high profile
Mini Series: 5 PHitW Highlights
May 10th, 2010 by Tim Delhey EianThis week we’ll embark on a little mini-series, highlighting 5 reasons why the Passive House in the Woods project is a sustainable project.
The leapfrog design of the Passive House in the Woods is based on integrated design and the holistic idea of building and living. Gary approached us with a vision of carbon-neutral, low impact building. That in itself does not sound like much. But we quickly realized how serious he is about it, and embraced the idea by assembling and leading a team of experts to deliver on all fronts of sustainability.
Highlight #1: Low Energy Footprint and Carbon Emissions:
We chose Passive House design—the world’s leading building energy standard—to create a building envelope that is extremely efficient to begin with. It is, in fact so efficient, that even in climate zone 7 it can be heated with two hair-dryers on the coldest, darkest days of winter. The energy model we created shows a predicted energy consumption of 4,200 kWh per year. This will be offset by a 4.7 kW photovoltaic system, generating an average of 6,750 kWh per year—making the building net energy positive (makes more energy that it consumes), and delivering carbon-neutral operation for two people in the home. (calculated with the Passive House Planning Package 2007)
Tomorrow: Highlight #2: Site Integration
New Construction Videos
May 9th, 2010 by Tim Delhey EianMorr Construction posted another set of videos from the jobsite—this time centered around the construction of the roof and parapet walls. The rooftop is designed as a terrace with concrete pavers. It’ll serve as a stargazing platform, and a hangout/entertainment space with a 30+ mile view. It’s also host to a 1kW photovoltaic system, as well as a 4 x 10 foot solar thermal collector.
Media
Midwest Home Magazine
Platinum Sponsors
TE Studio
Morr Construction
InUnison Design
American Standard
B-Style
Jado
Partners 4 Design
Porcher
Room & Board
Gold Sponsors
Peak Building Products
Chad Holder Photography
Crystal Cabinets
Warners’ Stellian
Silver Sponsors
Built Environments
Armacell
DiversiFoam
EHS
Granite Tops
Intersource
Lutron
NuHeat
Üson
Bronze Sponsors
Energy Concepts
American Clay
Coldspring Granite
Hunt’s Carpet Service
Rehau
St. Croix Electric
